Volunteers play a large role at Glaucoma Australia, assisting with many tasks such as assisting with our mail-outs and newsletters, running our support groups, preparing merchandise orders and providing corporate expertise with our business projects.

If you would like to volunteer your time and/or particular skills, please call us on 02 9906 6640 or email us at glaucoma@glaucoma.org.au

Stories from some of our dedicated volunteers:

Margaret Tanner

Meet Margaret Tanner, 96, who arrives on a weekly basis to assist us in supporting the glaucoma community. She even manages to fit in a round of golf each week, being a foundation member of a local club. We asked Margaret to tell us a bit about herself and her time at Glaucoma Australia.

Margaret, why did you decide to volunteer your time to GA and when did you start coming?

I had a friend, Mary, who had been volunteering for Glaucoma Australia for years and she suggested I come along to help out. I was keen to volunteer somewhere and, because I had previously been diagnosed with glaucoma myself, I thought this might be a good thing to do. I started volunteering in late 2002, nearly 15 years ago.

What tasks were you given in the early days? Has much changed in what you do?

There has always been something to keep us busy and the things we do haven’t changed much. Organising the newsletter mail-outs requires a lot of envelope stuffing and there are always merchandise orders from Friends and Supporters to fill. We post a lot of Christmas cards (we do that job for over four months a year) and eye care practitioners request patient information materials - we send those out as well. We have the mundane stamping envelopes with “postage paid”, counting brochures into bundles and filling out raffle ticket stubs; but some of us are in charge of projects like organising supplies for the introductory mailing program or making sure the Post Office receives mail in the right format.

What keeps you coming back?

I enjoy the work and the company - it’s like a social outing.

Have you made long term friendships during your time at Glaucoma Australia?

Yes I have. I meet some of the people between our regular volunteer days and we do other activities together. I also exchange birthday cards and/or Christmas cards (Glaucoma Australia’s of course!) to keep in touch with those aren’t able to come in anymore.

What is your most memorable moment?

This would be my 90th birthday, where we had morning tea in the office and then lunch at a local hotel! There was the most delicious cake at the morning tea and later, all the volunteers and staff went to lunch, where good company and food helped me celebrate my birthday, and Brian’s, another volunteer. The annual lunch, to celebrate the end of the year is always a great day as well!

Dr Simon Skalicky

Dr Simon Skalicky FRANZCO, PhD, BSc (Med), MPhil, MMed, MBBS (Hons 1) is a federal Councillor and Chair of the Ophthalmology Liaison Committee for Glaucoma Australia. He is a glaucoma and cataract subspecialist with posts at the Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital and Royal Melbourne Hospital. He undertook a subspeciality fellowship in the department of Ophthalmology at Cambridge University in the United Kingdom where he studied and practiced advanced glaucoma surgery at the prestigious Addenbrooke’s Glaucoma Unit. Dr Skalicky is a Clinical Senior Lecturer at the Universities of Sydney and Melbourne. An advocate of evidence-based best practice, he is widely published and actively involved in training medical students, Ophthalmology registrars and glaucoma subspecialty fellows. He is an active clinical researcher in the field of glaucoma, particularly interested in evaluating new treatments from the perspective of the patients’ experience and their quality of life.

Dr Skalicky is a tireless worker and volunteer for Glaucoma Australia. He is committed to supporting all people with glaucoma, their relatives and care providers. He believes the advocacy and information provided by Glaucoma Australia empowers Australians to make better choices for their health. He is optimistic that the opportunities afforded by new technologies and treatments in glaucoma will translate to a better future for people with glaucoma and their families. He hopes these will promote earlier detection of the disease, increase tolerability of treatment, improve patients’ experience, and ultimately reduce visual loss from glaucoma in Australia and around the world.

Meet George Collins, a long-term volunteer who spoke to us about his experience of working for Glaucoma Australia.

Where do you live, George?

I live in Merrylands, a western suburb of Sydney, not too far from Parramatta. It takes about 90 minutes travel by public transport to get to the Glaucoma Australia office.

Why did you decide to volunteer?

I have glaucoma myself, and a strong family history, and I hoped I might lessen the risk to my children and our coming generations if I supported glaucoma education and fundraising for research.

How long have you had glaucoma?

I was found to have elevated intraocular pressure in 1979. With the use of various drops, laser and more recently, surgery my glaucoma has been managed for over 30 years.

When did you start volunteering at Glaucoma Australia?

I learned about Glaucoma Australia, then called “The Glaucoma Foundation”, in 1992 and have been coming ever since.

What jobs were you doing in the early days and has much changed with the organisation since that time?

Many of the tasks were similar to the present day but they certainly were more time-consuming and ‘hands on’. The bulk mail had to be delivered to the Post Office, using a hand trolley - now it is picked up. Almost all the literature had to be hand-folded, in a very cramped work area. Today we have self-adhesive stamps, postage-paid envelopes and folding machines to lighten the load. As the organisation has grown we have needed bigger premises and this has made working conditions much more comfortable.

What keeps you coming back?

Volunteers are hard to come by and even one person missing during a busy period can make a difference. I also enjoy the social contact with the other volunteers. The friendships I have made have been great and I enjoy catching up with those I don’t see so often.

What is your memorable moment?

It would have to be the awarding of the OAM to our co-founder Kath Holmes in 1996 in recognition of her dedication to the glaucoma cause.

Do you have any final thoughts?

There is always room for more volunteers!

Judith Smith

Judith Smith is one of our very first volunteers who, after nearly 27 years, still volunteers each week for Glaucoma Australia.

When did you start as a volunteer?

I started about two years after Kath Holmes formed the Glaucoma Foundation so have been coming for about 27 years.

Why did you decide to volunteer your time to Glaucoma Australia?

I had been told I had glaucoma and had heard Dr (now Associate Professor) Goldberg speaking about it on the radio. I was not quick enough to get pen and paper so two years later he was talking again and asking for volunteers. I wanted to help so I rang and offered my time.

What did you do?

When I first started I was on call to fill in during the busy times. Then I went in every fortnight and now, every week. In the early days the space was small and there were always a lot of boxes of material. We would sit close together and would be very busy but everyone was very friendly. We even had people coming from Newcastle to help out. Then we grew in numbers and moved to another place with more room. When Glaucoma Australia first started there were fundraising events to raise money. Then we started selling Christmas cards. Come June, the volunteers get excited wondering what our Christmas cards are going to look like.

What about now?

The number of people who are learning about glaucoma and how to manage it has grown so we are still busy sending out materials, especially to those people who have recently become Friends and Supporters.

What advice can you give the readers?

Firstly if you are a Friend and Supporter of Glaucoma Australia, even if you move to another part of the world, keep your subscription going so you can receive your newsletter- there is always new information.

Brian Stewart

Brian first heard about volunteering when he accompanied his wife Barbara to a senior’s information event in mid-2008. Not long after he responded to a call from Glaucoma Australia to help with a Glaucoma News mail-out. “The rest is history” according to Brian as he has been travelling from Castle Hill in Sydney’s Hills District to our office on a weekly and sometimes twice-weekly basis ever since.

Brian helps out in many ways and his expertise as a retired banker has been invaluable. He ensures donations and merchandise payments are efficiently processed, undertaking accounts receivable/payable tasks with great enthusiasm. Brian is definitely the best person to talk to if any financial calculations are required. Brian also works in the Sydney Charity Greeting Card Shop alongside Barbara and has a regular Meals on Wheels shift in his local community.

Brian says his most memorable moment with Glaucoma Australia occurred this year when he and Barbara were asked to participate in filming for the BIG Breakfast TV ad with Andrew Voss. The ad was shown nationally for over a month and Brian reckons it was a great experience seeing how this type of production comes together. Most of all though, Brian enjoys working to make sure the people who need help as a result of having glaucoma receive the information they are looking for. He says he looks forward to the day’s tasks and the company of Staff and Volunteers as it is a very friendly atmosphere and people are always made welcome.

Brian, Barbara and their son, Warwick, continue to provide outstanding support to people with glaucoma through their work with Glaucoma Australia.